Beer reviews and blog posts by Matt

Matt spent the majority of his adult life drinking Miller Lite in large quantities. Largely turned off by darker beers, he was introduced to homebrewing in early 2009. Almost immediately, his taste buds began to morph, accepting beers with FLAVOR and character. Since then, Matt's had fun adventures learning all about beer, especially how to brew it successfully at home. Everywhere he goes he tries new beer and expands his knowledge of what is available. Matt digs Pale Ales and IPA’s.

Brewmaster Dinner at Emmett’s Brewing Company

Brewmaster Dinner at Emmett’s Brewing Company

I’ve been married to my wonderful wife for 5 years. This year it was her turn to plan our anniversary dinner evening and she did a great job. Not only did she manage to keep me in the dark the entire time up until our arrival, she chose a place and event that she knew...

Review: My First Year of Home Brewing

It was April 2009 when I first began brewing beer at home. What follows is a list of every batch since then and some brief notes on each. It was a great year. Not every beer was amazing, but some were very impressive, especially for a new guy. As you can see, I jumped...

Rainy Day IPA Batch Update

Took a sample of the IPA last night. It was just as I had hoped – 1.01 FG- yielding a 5.0% ABV. The color shocked me, in a good way. A bright, pale orange color that really caught me off guard. The taste was great also, very hoppy. Going to be a hoppy pale ale, more...

Home Brewing Batch Update: Amberhop

A buddy of mine and I kegged the Amberhop last Thursday. I set the regulator to 30 PSI and let it sit for about 3 whole days. Yesterday, amidst a painfully long day of serious yard work, I decided I had earned a pint of my long await recent batch. I went down the...
Homebrew Red Ale #5

Homebrew Red Ale #5

Wow. I told my wife after I had kegged this and it was ready to drink that I thought it was my best beer to date. I should qualify that. I was and remains the most drinkable of my pale ales in my opinion. As for being my best beer, I can’t commit to that, but it...

Homebrew Rainy Day IPA

Some introductory info on this beer, brewed 4/3/10 Based on Jamil’s “Hoppiness is an IPA” in Brewing Classic Styles Helpers: Olivia, daughter. Vicki, wife. Ingredients 4lbs 2-Row American Pale Malt .75 lbs Munich malt .5 Crystal 10 .25 Crystal 40 3lbs Dry Malt Extract...

Home Brewing: AmberHop in Secondary

This beer was basically an experiment for me, but not a wild risky experiment where I thought there was a good chance of producing a bad beer. More experimental in the sense that I have been dabbling more and more with partial mash brews in an effort to expand my...

Meet Matt Claus, Home Brewer

I figure there are a couple of reasons behind my romance with making beer at home. I’m no food scientist, but my grandfather was. He actually was very well respected in the industrial food industry (the same industry I work in now.) His achievements were scattered...